L'enclume: meet the neighbours
Cumbria is rich in the UK's finest ingredients and this has heavily influenced Chef Simon Rogan's cooking. But rather than just focus on local suppliers, he's gone a step further and L'enclume now has its own farm. While it is still early days (only the farm's second season), the farm is nevertheless already supplying many of the herbs and vegetables that you'll find on your plate at L'enclume. In time, that proportion will grow of course but what it also guarantees is that while most restaurants talk of seasonal menus, at L'enclume, they really mean it. With the farm now part of the supply chain, central to the success of L'enclume will be Rogan's ability to constantly change the menu according to what he's got growing (and what's ready) on the farm while maintaining the standard and precision in his food.
At much acclaimed restaurants like Heston's Dinner, one gets the sense of fixed menus with little if anything ever really changing over time, much like his three star gaff The Fat Duck. We don't wish to be seen to be picking on Heston here, but at the point of unchanging menus, development genius is superseded by industrial production. At L'enclume, the menu is, every day, in the hands of the chef. That in itself makes it exciting but also allows a chef no room for complacency.
And if all that weren't challenging enough, L'enclume wont use foreign ingredients in their cooking. They use Cumbrian ingredients as a preference, then North West, then UK products. Accordingly, you'll never find a lemon in the kitchen, rather, if they want acidity, they use (amongst other things) juice from the grapes they grow on their own farm. But in adopting this approach, they also embraced quite independently the current food zeitgeist (which makes it yet more puzzling that L'enclume has not itself been more warmly embraced).
At much acclaimed restaurants like Heston's Dinner, one gets the sense of fixed menus with little if anything ever really changing over time, much like his three star gaff The Fat Duck. We don't wish to be seen to be picking on Heston here, but at the point of unchanging menus, development genius is superseded by industrial production. At L'enclume, the menu is, every day, in the hands of the chef. That in itself makes it exciting but also allows a chef no room for complacency.
And if all that weren't challenging enough, L'enclume wont use foreign ingredients in their cooking. They use Cumbrian ingredients as a preference, then North West, then UK products. Accordingly, you'll never find a lemon in the kitchen, rather, if they want acidity, they use (amongst other things) juice from the grapes they grow on their own farm. But in adopting this approach, they also embraced quite independently the current food zeitgeist (which makes it yet more puzzling that L'enclume has not itself been more warmly embraced).
Returning from the farm to L'enclume
Our pre dinner snacks today are fried garlic leaves and duck sweetbreads. Few people seem to have heard or had duck sweetbreads and we fully admit it was our first time to try them: L'enclume gives us another delicious revelation. Another one bite snack to start the real menu, Blood pudding in bread. This is followed by the most beautiful looking Chick pea wafer, cream cheese, herbs and flowers dish. It tastes as good as it looks. If you're reading this and thinking about Noma, we'd not be surprised, there's lots of crossover points of which we'll discuss more later. Today in 'Simon's sack' it is Asparagus with crab and rye toast.
Blood pudding in bread
Chick pea wafer, cream cheese, herbs and flowers dish
Asparagus sacks with crab, and rye toast
An off menu item follows: cod mousse in a turmeric skin, crispy salt and vinegar wild rice, bacon, and cream of egg and bacon. Totally wow with some visual and taste games taking place on the plate, more El Bulli than Noma, or rather, totally L'enclume.
Millet pudding with grains and Blackstick blue (cheese), burnt pear and alexanders, with bone marrow on top and a herb sauce is next out, again, first class. Pickled radish and Bessy beck trout, rocket and bronze fennel dazzles you from the plate with what seems like a sheet of radish, and following this, it is vintage potatoes in onion ashes, lovage and wood sorrel. It was Noma where we first came across vintage potatoes (a small second growth potato) in a similar sort of dish. The extensive use of flowers and herbs, even on desserts, and a menu more vegetable-herb based than protein based. It reminds us of Noma.
But here's the rub: suggest to most chefs that the plates they serve could easily grace the tables at Noma and you'd expect a big smile at the very least, but here, it's not exactly the case. Yes there's the foraging and the use of local ingredients but L'enclume is not trying to imitate or even emulate Noma, rather, they've independently arrived at broadly the same philosophy and both execute it equally well. Really, L'enclume is as good as Noma. But while the world goes Redzepi crazy, as said in our Part 1 post, Simon Rogan is not enjoying similar recognition (currently) so you might want to leave your Noma comparisons at home when you visit.
Millet pudding with grains and Blackstick blue (cheese), burnt pear and alexanders, with bone marrow on top and a herb sauce is next out, again, first class. Pickled radish and Bessy beck trout, rocket and bronze fennel dazzles you from the plate with what seems like a sheet of radish, and following this, it is vintage potatoes in onion ashes, lovage and wood sorrel. It was Noma where we first came across vintage potatoes (a small second growth potato) in a similar sort of dish. The extensive use of flowers and herbs, even on desserts, and a menu more vegetable-herb based than protein based. It reminds us of Noma.
But here's the rub: suggest to most chefs that the plates they serve could easily grace the tables at Noma and you'd expect a big smile at the very least, but here, it's not exactly the case. Yes there's the foraging and the use of local ingredients but L'enclume is not trying to imitate or even emulate Noma, rather, they've independently arrived at broadly the same philosophy and both execute it equally well. Really, L'enclume is as good as Noma. But while the world goes Redzepi crazy, as said in our Part 1 post, Simon Rogan is not enjoying similar recognition (currently) so you might want to leave your Noma comparisons at home when you visit.
cod mousse in a turmeric skin, crispy salt and vinegar wild rice, bacon, and cream of egg and bacon
Millet pudding with grains and Blackstick blue (cheese), burnt pear and alexanders
Pickled radish and Bessy beck trout, rocket and bronze fennel
vintage potatoes in onion ashes, lovage and wood sorrel
Still lots of food to go, carrots with ham fat and nasturtium had added significance for us as we ourselves had pulled these very carrots out the ground earlier in the day. Then came Salt baked white vienna (kohlrabi) in kale leaf, thyme and chicken offal. The surprise here was the chicken offal ragu, tasting of the most concentrated ragu that you could imagine, what flavour!
We'd been looking forward to the next course since seeing it on the menu: native lobster in pig skin, cabbage (sauce), grilled wild leeks, pink purslane. Lobster in a rough crispy pork skin is both delicious and in our experience totally original.
The last of the savouries is Herdwick Hogget (a one year old sheep), creamed salsify, cider and chenopodiums (a flowering herb). And a sweatbread on top. This was a stop the clock moment. The Hogget tasted better than any lamb we had ever had, it was a taste sensation and again represented a bold move by Simon in not simply opting for a milk fed lamb course. This was food at its very best.
We'd been looking forward to the next course since seeing it on the menu: native lobster in pig skin, cabbage (sauce), grilled wild leeks, pink purslane. Lobster in a rough crispy pork skin is both delicious and in our experience totally original.
The last of the savouries is Herdwick Hogget (a one year old sheep), creamed salsify, cider and chenopodiums (a flowering herb). And a sweatbread on top. This was a stop the clock moment. The Hogget tasted better than any lamb we had ever had, it was a taste sensation and again represented a bold move by Simon in not simply opting for a milk fed lamb course. This was food at its very best.
carrots with ham fat and nasturtium
Salt baked white vienna in kale leaf, thyme and chicken offal
native lobster in pig skin, cabbage (sauce), grilled wild leeks, pink purslane
Herdwick Hogget, creamed salsify, cider and chenopodiums
Three desserts closed out the menu. First, Poached rhubarb with ginger bread and sheeps milk. Second, Coniston oatmeal stout ice cream, apple, sweet brackens and malt, finally, Sweet cheese (ice cream) with beetroot (ice cream) and walnuts. Like yesterday, the desserts were fresh, light and totally contemporary. The desserts are also vibrant, texturally interesting and bring interesting contrasting elements together.
Poached rhubarb with ginger bread and sheeps milk
Coniston oatmeal stout ice cream, apple, sweet brackens and malt
Sweet cheese (ice cream) with beetroot (ice cream) and walnuts
What an exciting two days of eating it was. And how brilliant was L'enclume: no stale ideas, no lazy plates, no 'me too' approach. Simon Rogan with L'enclume offers what we believe to be a totally unique food experience in the UK and one that made the 280 mile journey worth it. If 3 Michelin stars is defined as 'exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey' then L'enclume is most certainly that.
We must also say that the front of house team were excellent and made us feel not only welcome but cared for, exhibiting a genuine interest in our overall well being while staying at L'enclume.
We always knew that great restaurants don't begin or end with Michelin stars or Mayfair post codes but L'enclume more than any other perhaps drives that point home. Creative, original and brilliant food by people who care in a beautiful part of the world. What further enticement do you need to go?
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Related posts: L'enclume Part 1
We must also say that the front of house team were excellent and made us feel not only welcome but cared for, exhibiting a genuine interest in our overall well being while staying at L'enclume.
We always knew that great restaurants don't begin or end with Michelin stars or Mayfair post codes but L'enclume more than any other perhaps drives that point home. Creative, original and brilliant food by people who care in a beautiful part of the world. What further enticement do you need to go?
Return to homepage
Related posts: L'enclume Part 1
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